Georgia State History

Georgia State Flag

Like the rest of the United States area, Georgia was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans before any European explorers visited the area. The local Native American culture, known for their moundbuilding, is believed to have lived in the area for many centuries prior to the arrival of Spanish explorers.

The moundbuilding cultures are thought to have settled into the Georgia area as long ago as 3000 BC. The moundbuilders used these structures as residences, burial grounds, and ceremonial establishments. The mounds were typically constructed in a pyramidal fashion, with an earthen top.
The mounds were also sometimes constructed in the shape of ceremonially significant animals. The most famous mound came in the shape of a serpent, with the form visible from an airplane.

The first European explorers into the region believed that the mounds were created by a supernatural race, as it did not appear as though the Native Americans in the area built them. The mound building cultures were largely wiped out as a result of biological contact with the Europeans, spreading devastating diseases such as smallpox among the natives.

The early mound building societies completely disappeared by 1560, destroyed by diseases brought over with the arrival of the Europeans. Hernando de Soto was the first Spanish explorer to visit the Georgia area. The Spanish set about creating a firm presence in the Georgia region, bringing them quickly into conflict with England. By 1670, fighting had broken out between the Spanish and English. With the assistance of several Native American tribes, the English gradually pushed out the Spanish. By 1704, the Spanish had been pushed back to their settlements in Florida.

By 1732, the English had brought hundreds of settlers into the Georgia region. Although not an official policy, religious tolerance was a practice in Georgia, as the colonies wanted to attract as many people as possible. The colony was supported for many years by subsidies from England, but this support was eventually cut off around 1752. With the colony then placed under the control of the crown, dissent began to grow rapidly in the region.

Largely as a result of religious resistance to the Church of England, Georgia became one of the thirteen states rebelling against the crown in 1776. During the Civil War, the state of Georgia was a major theater during the conflict. At the conclusion of the war, Georgia suffered badly with Sherman’s March to the Sea, wherein a majority of Georgia was razed by a scorched earth policy.

The immediate aftermath of the Civil War brought hard times to Georgia for several years. Despite efforts during Reconstruction, the state remained under military rule and was the last state to be readmitted to the Union. On top of the infrastructure destruction of the Civil War, the Great Depression would follow up the damage in the 1920s. Factory closings and a sharp decline in crop prices hurt both city workers and farmers. Boll weevils also struck the state during this time, destroying much of the crop that was grown.

Like much of the United States, true recovery would not occur until World War II awoke the industrial might of the nation. The jobs lost in the heavy industry market were soon recovered, with thousands more created along the way. The factories that helped drive World War II remained in Georgia after the war, employing many workers in the cities across the state.

Georgia became the focus of racial tensions in the 1950s, with integration becoming an issue of violent contention. 1961 brought integration to the schools, but it would not be until 1969 that the Justice Department would take action to backup the earlier Supreme Court ruling. In 1977, Jimmy Carter would become the first U.S. President to be elected from the state of Georgia.

Suburban Neighbhorhood in Georgia looking towards the Georgian skyscrapers.

The state grew back as a hub of transportation, and remains so today. Atlanta is a major point of trade for the south, with its rail lines, interstates, and airports serving as a hub for trade throughout the South. Today the state is largely divided along sharply rural and urban lines. Atlanta is almost an entirely different world than the rest of Georgia. Most Georgians are engaged in the service sector today, but a large base of heavy industry remains, as well as agricultural activity.
Where once cotton was the principal export of Georgia, peanuts, tobacco, and corn have come to equal it in importance.

In recent years, the state has also become a popular tourist attraction, with its warm climate and beautiful scenery. The state also has many historic attractions, with many important Civil War battles having taken place in Georgia.

Moving to new place can be hard, but luckily, finding a Georgia Family Dentist is not as hard as it use to be. One of the way to find a qualified dentist in Georgia is to ask your old family dentist, but if he/she can’t give you a good recommendation, the next best thing is to check out the Georgia Family Dentist directory.